We are inviting proposals for a special issue onIranian-American Literature, projected for publicationin 2008.

The explosion in memoirs written by Iranian women inthe last few years has provided an unprecedentedliterary introduction into the lives and experiencesof Iranians -- whether exiles, immigrants, or inseveral cases, second-generation Iranian-Americans.This special issue of MELUS will focus on the emergingliterature of Iranian-Americans, (written by bothwomen and men) and will explore the relationshipbetween literature and Iranian immigration and thepolitics of US-Iranian relations in the second half ofthe 20th century and the emerging literature of thiscommunity at the start of the 21st century. Possibletopics might include:

Memoir and Women's NarrativesThe Fiction of the Iranian RevolutionThe Return Narrative to IranGrowing Up Iranian/Growing Up AmericanExpatriates and ExilesIranian-American Poetry

We welcome proposals that discuss the emergence ofIranian-American literature (including Canada) andexplore the role of literature in creating a publicIranian identity in North America. Please submit a2-page abstract to Persis Karim atpkarim_at_helios.sjsu.edu and Nasrin Rahimieh atnasrin_at_mcmaster.ca by no later than June 15, 2006.

". . . Don't live in the world as if you were renting or here only for the summer, but act as if it was your father's house. . .Believe in seeds, earth, and the sea, but people above all. Love clouds, machines, and books, but people above all." Nazim Hikmet, 20th century Turkish poet